Theory / Spring 2013 RTW

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There’s definitely a short hair trend developing for spring 2013. It’s around chin-length, choppy, and tousled, and is happening on and off the runway (see Lily Kwong, Karen Elson, and Margherita Missoni’s recent transformations). Olivier Theyskens put his own slant on it by tinting models’ locks light blue and auburn and dousing them in product to appear drenched. It was one of the best displays of the look we’ve seen thus far.

So what does it have to do with the clothes? Well, in the instance of Theyskens’ Theory, the girls’ carefully unkempt beauty loosened up the structured, elegant silhouettes. Theyskens has graduated from the low-slung pant, razor-sharp jacket combination that was his calling card during the early part of his tenure (at least on the runway, pre-collections naturally still hem a bit closer to those best sellers). Lately, he’s been using fall and spring to showcase his interest in tailoring. That was evident this season from his first exit: a sober double-breasted black pantsuit. It was followed by voluminous cotton pants worn with heavily beaded cocoon jackets, and sleeveless bubble dresses with smocking waists. There was also a light blue, sheer shirt dress with visible seams and subtly exaggerated hips.

Overall the color palette was pale and iridescent with a mix of ebony, a nod, Theyskens said, to the sea. “You have these beautiful organisms in this very dark environment,” he explained. The ocean also prompted his use of fabrics and techniques by adding polyurethane to oversize coats (if that doesn’t tell you something about what he thinks of the state of our ecosystem). However there were a lot of pearls, too, encrusting jackets and short shift dresses.

In all, this was a more mature collection, and the way Theyskens tells it, that was deliberate. “I was entertaining elegance and grace,” he said. “Less of the girls, you know, and more of a projection.”

But still, the hair. “I like that sort of fresh strong character that comes out of nowhere,” he said. Could it also have to do with the fact that he recently lopped his own trademark locks? “I associate a lot of my work with how I feel,” he said. “I was thinking of these outfits with hair chopped off.”